Saturday, March 18, 2006

assessment Identifying and measuring individual engagement in critical thinking in online discussions - Cheryl Perkins, Elizabeth Murphy, IFETS. This paper reports on an exploratory case study involving the development of a model for identifying and measuring individual engagement in critical thinking in an online asynchronous discussion (OAD). The model is first developed through a review of the [Online Learning Update] 10:11:05 PM    comment

eContent Yahoo! Launches Local News. [Slashdot] 1:55:30 PM    comment

AI Ideas & Trends: Book, How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Words. Some say computer analyses of books help provide insight into the influences on a text, whether the work of Shakespeare or your average high school student. By NOAM COHEN. [NYT > Technology] 1:52:16 PM    comment

games Tunnel Vision. Some game designers are discarding "heads-up displays," trying to create a more immersive environment by providing game data such as a player's health and ammo levels using subtler hints that are truer to life. Big mistake. Commentary by Clive Thompson. [Wired News: Top Stories] 8:45:38 AM    comment

HCI Is Your CSS Well Formed?. If not, make it so with CSSTweak. This simple, web-based tool can compress and beautify cascading stylesheets in seconds. In Monkey Bites. [Wired News: Top Stories] 8:40:35 AM    comment

privacy Judge Orders Deleted Emails Turned Over. [Slashdot] 8:37:35 AM    comment

First Transparent Integrated Circuit. Researchers at Oregon State University have created the world's first completely transparent integrated circuit from inorganic compounds, another major step forward for the rapidly evolving field of transparent electronics. read more [Science Blog -] 8:35:17 AM    comment

AI therapy Automatic Speech Recognition: Reliability and Pedagogical Implications for Teaching Pronunciation - In-Seok Kim, IFETS. This study examines the reliability of automatic speech recognition (ASR) software used to teach English pronunciation, focusing on one particular piece of software, FluSpeak, as a typical example. Thirty-six Korean English as a Foreign Language (EFL) col [Online Learning Update] 8:29:14 AM    comment

assessment Testing Errors Prompt Calls for Oversight. As students' futures depend more and more on standardized test scores, should the testing industry be more strictly regulated? By KAREN W. ARENSON. [NYT > Education] 8:24:21 AM    comment

HCI Sparkline refinements. Michael Buckley wrote to say that he was happy to see a sparkline used in the wild, but wished it hadn't been imprisoned in borders. Excellent observation. Here is Edward Tufte's side-by-side illustration showing what's wrong and right, for a set of small multiples: ... [Jon's Radio] 8:22:34 AM    comment

addiction Smoking, booze abuse may be tied to same genes. Vulnerability to both alcohol and nicotine abuse may be influenced by the same genetic factor, according to a recent study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health read more [Science Blog -] 8:18:50 AM    comment